CrtiCC’s member Jake Mahr has recently begun a “zine” with the aim of documenting his research process in an alternative manner. Zines (short for “magazines” or “fanzines”) are independent, self-published booklets and pamphlets with a “do-it-yourself” mentality. They arose in the early 1900’s as a way for amateur writers to publish material without strict censorship or steep costs. Since then, they have been adopted into various activist movements as a method for disseminating information about their respective causes.

Jake’s research focuses on the rhetorical and discursive practices used by non-binary zine authors to represent themselves within the images and text of their publication. He considers “non-binary” to be an encompassing term for individuals who do not strictly identify with a particular side of a socially constructed identity binary, like gender (man/woman), for example.

Through his research, Jake has come to realize that “knowledge” does not always come in the form of an academic article or journal, and that real knowledge can be found within the lived experiences of the zine authors in his study. Because of this, he has chosen to publish a research-themed zine, titled Lacuna Laguna, as homage to the media form. In this way, Jake is able to distance his own research from the strict definitions of the “academy,” and continue to confuse our notion’s of knowledge production. 

The zine is printed in small quantities and distributed locally around the UPF campus. It also comes in an online form (lacunalaguna.myportfolio.com) so as to make its contents available to the global community of zine authors that Jake includes in his study.